1. Field of the Invention
The invention is directed to an apparatus for transporting and for decelerating folded products between two consecutive stations of a folding apparatus in a web-fed rotary printing machine. In particular, between a folding cylinder and a longitudinal folding device or a feeder station. The transporting and decelerating take place by two belt groups arranged in tandem, each group containing upper and lower belts between which the products are guided. The second belt group, with reference to the transporting direction, forms a feed gap between the upper belts and lower belts and moves slower than the first belt group.
2. Brief Description of the Prior Art
It is known from the general prior art to decelerate folded products in a folding apparatus, e.g. on route from the folding cylinder to the second longitudinal folding device, by means of two groups of belts. The belt groups are arranged in tandem, each group containing upper and lower belts between which the products are guided. The second belt group can be driven at a lower speed via a toothed wheel gear unit. The first belt group has a wedge-shaped outlet and the second belt group has a wedge-shaped intake or feed gap. With products of varying thickness, these wedges cause the product to be clamped along areas of different length by the fast-moving first belt group and by the slower second belt group. This results in the formation of waves in the product. Further, there is a gap between the upper belts of the first and second belt groups toward which the beginning and end of the sheet tend to move. In spite of covering this gap with tabs, there is a risk of paper jams and bent corners of the product.